Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis and International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde met yesterday at the Fund's headquarters in Washington to discuss the progress under the programme and possible next steps.Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras, PM advisor Stavros Papastavros, Finance ministry secretary general Tassos Anastasatos and Greece's IMF representative Thanos Katsampas participated in the meeting, as well as the head of the IMF's European department Poul Thomsen and Jerry Rice, Director of the Communication Department.

"Ms. Lagarde commended the authorities for the significant improvement in Greece’s fiscal position and encouraged them to implement decisively key structural reforms in line with program commitments. She reiterated the Fund’s commitment to supporting Greece in continuing to achieve program objectives.", according to an IMF statement on Greece released yesterday.